Talk:Computer number format

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notation to describe floating-point formats[edit]

I see that many people describe and compare fixed-point number formats using Q (number format) notation, where one system has "Q1.14" fixed-point numbers while another system has "Q7.16" fixed-point numbers.

I see that some people use a similar notation (without naming that notation) in List of computers with on-board BASIC and probably other Wikipedia articles, describing one system as having "FP:31/8" floating-point numbers, while another system uses "FP:64" floating-point numbers. I see that (other?) people use a different notation (without naming that notation) to describe G.711 as having effectively "seeemmmm" floating-point numbers and describe single-precision Microsoft Binary Format as having "xxxxxxxx_smmmmmmm_mmmmmmmm_mmmmmmmm" floating-point numbers.

Is there a name for either of these notations? Is there any other named notation used by people to show the differences between binary16 vs. bfloat16 vs. other floating point formats? --DavidCary (talk) 23:47, 19 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]